I’m really a firm believer in breakfast being the most important meal of the day and the right breakfast sets you up both mentally and physically. It also doesn’t hurt to enjoy a healthy start surrounded by good friends and in a beautiful environment.
The Rosebery Lounge at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park has to be one of my favourite hotel spaces in the London. With elegant tones of lemongrass, dark wood, beautiful tree sculptures and flooded with natural light – it’s quite simply stunning!
Even the china is gorgeous and adds another element of delight to a simple cup of coffee.
I’d invited some of my favourite bloggers to come down to the luxury hotel to join me in sampling their latest breakfast offering with a choice of different healthy bowls. Oh and the navy blue and burgundy co-ordination totally wasn’t planned! Lauren, Sabrina, Chloe, Katie and Ben were all there bright and early on a Saturday morning and we were lucky enough to meet Chef Victor Ruiz.
With a wide variety of healthy bowls, there’s some seriously good choices to get your day started. Chia seed puddings are full of omega-3 fatty acids, fibre and calcium and keep you incredibly full. Lauren and Katie both opted to try one, intrigued as neither had had one before. It was chia seeds, matcha, agave, fresh mango, dry coconut flakes, raspberries, fresh mint for Lauren and chia seeds, raw cacao powder, banana, cocoa nibs, goji berries, almond flakes, Himalayan pink salt for Katie. Sabrina’s gluten free requirements were accommodated and she enjoyed acai puree, banana, blueberries, homemade granola.
I’m a huge porridge fan and I loved the idea of building your own bowls – sort of like a healthy pic ‘n mix. There’s seven steps to creating the perfect bowl so your really can customise it just how you like. First you pick your oats, then milk, compote, sauce, fruit, nut and topping with several options for each. I really enjoyed my hearty bowl of jumbo oats, apple vanilla compote, banana and mixed berries, white mulberries and chia seeds and I think it looked pretty as a picture. If healthy bowls aren’t really your thing, you can do as Chloe and Ben did and opt for Cotswold scrambled eggs cooked in raw coconut oil with hass avocado sprinkled in bee pollen, rocket salad, organic goji berries, truffled acacia honey.
You can also end breakfast on a sweet note with a matcha cheesecake.
The other great thing about starting the day at the Mandarin Oriental is that it’s perfectly positioned for shopping afterwards. Well fuelled on chia seeds and porridge oats, the shops of Knightsbridge were our next stop!

A big thank you to the Mandarin Oriental for hosting this bloggers breakfast.